On the homepage of the Wikileaks website, amidst numerous calls for donations and links to information most of the world will never officially be allowed to see, sits an unnoticed number. Today, it reads 454; tomorrow, it will be 455. The number tracks the number of days that Julian Assange has been detained in London. Distracted by a host of secret information, we would do well to keep in mind the man behind the message. If Assange were convicted, it would likely spell the end of Wikileaks, a demise that would significantly hurt transparency in government and thus democracy.
Last Monday, the self-proclaimed "not-for-profit media organization" released the "Global Intelligence Files" after obtaining millions of internal emails from Stratfor, a Texas-based think tank that advises a number of corporations and governments mainly on security issues. The emails range from scandalous to simply amusing (and rather embarrassing for Stratfor). One email allegedly from Stratfor's CEO explains the hiring of legal consultation by outlining his aversion to "[doing] the perp walk." Also leaked was "The Stratfor Glossary of Useful, Baffling and Strange Intelligence Terms," a snarky list of words with definitions for new Stratfor staff, including a definition of a "green-carder" as "a source working for you because he believes that you will take him to America where he will own a 7-Eleven."
While much of the content is entertaining, some disclosed information carries grave implications. One email says that Pakistani intelligence officers knew about Osama bin Laden's mansion hideout in Abbottabad and even claims that the United States government knows their names and ranks. Another details how Dow Chemical hired Stratfor to spy on civilian activists in Bhopal, India who want Dow to clean up the site of a gas leak that killed thousands and continues polluting the area today.
One of the most important revelations, however, has received relatively little coverage. An email from Stratfor's vice president of intelligence revealed that the U.S. government has already drawn up sealed charges against Assange. Coming on the heels of Australian news reports of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into the possibility of charging Assange under the 1917 Espionage Act, this news makes clear that the U.S. government is trying to take Assange, and with him Wikileaks, down. Assange himself is convinced that attempts to extradite him to Sweden merely pave the way for his transport to the United States. This is news to which we should all be paying more attention.
While many Americans hold differing views on Wikileaks, it is undeniable that the organization plays an important role as a watchdog on our government, which increasingly seems to lack transparency. I'm sure much of this secrecy is necessary, but some of it likely isn't. Wikileaks is essentially the sole organization in the world today that can educate American citizens about significant sections of government functions. Informed voters are the basis of American democracy and serve as the ultimate check on the federal government. Not all information can or must be free, but much of what is kept from the American public should be. The end of Wikileaks would be a loss for democratic governance in America.
Admittedly, Wikileaks has its problems. Certain leaks, especially those of diplomatic cables, may have hurt U.S. agencies in efforts to protect national security. Furthermore, the entire nature of Wikileaks is based on intrusions of privacy to some degree: Revealing classified intelligence, by definition, involves disclosing someone else's information that they would rather not publicize. Nonetheless, the information only serves to educate the public, usually about abuses of power or opaque and controversial policies. Moreover, Wikileaks merely serves as a host for information given by outside sources. It doesn't hack into any networks or steal any dossiers out of file cabinets. By offering an option to anonymous whistleblowers worldwide, Wikileaks serves as a host for the information that no other place is capable or willing to receive.
Wikileaks is not perfect. Indeed, Julian Assange likely isn't perfect, either. I'm not trying to speak to his guilt or innocence. We should all pay attention, however, to the nature of Assange's prosecution. It increasingly appears to be politically motivated. An extradition trial in the United Kingdom is hardly as exciting as a leak of secretive intelligence documents from the government. Nevertheless, we should all watch Assange's trial closely lest the American public lose one of the few views of the clandestine side of the federal government that it has left.
